There were disturbances before and after two international association football matches between Egypt and Algeria in November 2009, leading to diplomatic tensions between Egypt, Algeria, and Sudan. The matches were in Group C in the CAF section of the qualifying competition for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2010 African Cup of Nations
The first match, the final scheduled match in Group C, took place in Cairo on 14 November, with Egypt winning 2–0. The result left Egypt and Algeria tied for first place in Group C, meaning they would both qualify for the African Cup of Nations held in Angola during January 2010, but necessitating a playoff match in a neutral country to decide who qualified for the 2010 World Cup hosted by South Africa. This took place in Omdurman, Sudan on 18 November, with Algeria winning 1–0 and thus qualifying for the World Cup.
Rivalry The countries are both in North Africa, separated by Libya and Tunisia, and football matches between them are fiercely contested local derbies. Although both have long been among Africa's stronger sides, each had experienced a long drought without World Cup qualification: Algeria since 1986 and Egypt since 1990.
In 1989, Egypt beat Algeria in a decisive qualifying match for the 1990 World Cup. Player Ayman Younes later said, "It was a battle, not a football match." Algerians felt the Tunisian referee was biased; fans rioted in the stands. An Algerian player attacked an Egyptian fan. Algeria's Lakhdar Belloumi was convicted in absentia for a glass attack which blinded Egypt's team doctor in one eye. He remained subject to an Interpol arrest warrant, although he claimed goalkeeper Kamel Kadri had been the true perpetrator.
Khaled Diab suggests that the 1989 match was the key moment for Egypt–Algeria rivalry, and that it is mainly confined to football rather than a reflection of deeper enmity; he notes Gamal Abdel Nasser supported Algeria's independence war against France, and suggests memory has faded in Algeria of Anwar El Sadat's unpopular Camp David Accords with Israel. On the other hand, Brian Oliver and James Montague point to other football controversies before 1989. In the 1950s, an Algerian National Liberation Front football team toured Africa to publicise its independence campaign, but were forbidden from playing in Egypt. At the 1978 All-Africa Games, Algerian police attacked Egyptian players and fans during their match against Libya. There were brawls at a qualifier for the 1984 Olympics.
Blida match Algeria's home match against Egypt in the 2010 qualifiers took place in June 2009 without any incident being reported. Rather, to cool down animosity between the two countries, the Egyptian team was received with flowers at the airport. Diplomatic agreement, with personal intervention from Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, included lifting the Interpol warrant on Belloumi and compensating the Egyptian team doctor. Both teams prepared for the match away from the pressure of intense local fans; Egypt in Oman, Algeria in France. Algeria coach Rabah Saadane wept at a press conference, expressing fear for his family's safety in the event of defeat. 5,000 security personnel turned Blida into a "virtual military base". Minors were barred from the stadium unless they had a ticket. Algeria won 3–1.
Cairo match The lead-up to the crucial match was hyped. In October, insults were traded on internet sites, and Egyptian hackers made a denial-of-service attack on the website of Algerian newspaper Ech-Chorouk El-Youmi; an Algerian hacker retaliated by crashing the websites of the President of Egypt and Egyptian newspaper Al Ahram. Both countries' governments appealed for calm. Media in both countries alluded to the 1989 match. Editorialist Mohamed El Dahshan reported, "In the two days preceding the game, Egyptians celebrated as if they had already won." Ahmed Shobair stated that rumours started on the internet were being propagated by the mainstream media.
When the Algerian team arrived in Cairo on Thursday 12 November, the bus carrying the team to its hotel was stoned, breaking windows and injuring three players and one official. Egyptian media alleged that the attack had been staged by the Algerians to have the match moved to a neutral venue. The police escort of one van and several motorcycle outriders was criticised as insufficient.
Egypt's leading state-owned daily Al-Ahram charged on Friday that it was the Algerian players, not stonethrowers, who had caused the damage to the bus. "The bus carrying the team from the airport to the hotel was at the centre of a strange incident in which some of the players started to smash the vehicle's windows claiming that they were the target of stonethrowing", the paper reported. The independent daily Al-Shuruq went further, saying the whole episode was a "complete fabrication." Citing a "senior security source", the paper said the windows of the bus were smashed "from the inside not the outside as claimed by Algerian team members." It accused the players of a "complete fabrication intended to serve as an excuse in the event that they lose" Saturday's key decider for next year's World Cup finals in South Africa.Egypt press says Algerian team faked bus attack, by Ines bel Aiba, AFP, 13 November 2009
The independent Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper acknowledged that some "kids" had thrown stones but charged that the Algerian players had then put on a "display of histrionics pretending to be scared and injured, and smashing up the bus's windows and seats." The state-owned Al Gomhuria said the players had even assaulted the bus driver.
Counterclaims included footage shot by Canal+ for its documentary about the Algerian team and cellphone footage shot by Rafik Saïfi. FIFA observer Walter Gagg said, "We saw that three players had been injured — Khaled Lemmouchia on the head, Rafik Halliche above the eye and Rafik Saïfi on the arm."
The initial reporting following the incident likely led to further poisoning the build-up to Saturday's game. The pre-match atmosphere in Egypt had already surged to feverish heights amid an unprecedented level of tension between the North African rivals.
Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki had specifically called for responsible coverage by both countries' media as the two governments issued joint appeals for calm. Egyptian and Algerian media "hold a responsibility in this regard and must work to maintain the strong ties between both countries and should not fuel disagreements that are unrelated to sports and sportsmanship", Zaki said.
That same evening just outside Cairo, Algeria's "king of raï" Cheb Khaled performed alongside Egyptian star Mohamed Mounir to a packed audience of nearly 45,000 people, according to organisers. "Long live Egypt, Arab country, long live Algeria, Arab country", Cheb Khaled shouted to the crowd with little apparent impact on home fans ahead of the game.
Egyptian Football Association board member Mahmoud Taher later indicated that "all Algeria players are safe. They were not hurt. Algeria is trying to blow things out of proportion. The bus is damaged from inside, so it is obvious that they were the ones who did that to escalate the matter. FIFA has not contacted Egypt as recently reported, and there aren't any intentions to call off the game."No Algerian players were injured – EFA , by Hatem Maher, FilGoal.com, 12 November 2009
Khairi Morsi, the Egyptian driver who drove the Algerian delegation's bus, said the Algerian team had assaulted him. He indicated to Modern Sport TV that "they also shattered the windows from inside when they saw some Egyptian people around the bus."
On Friday 13 November, FIFA declared the match would go ahead as scheduled, but "asked the Egyptian Football Association and the highest national authorities through the relevant ministries to provide written guarantees that confirm the implementation of the necessary additional safety and security measures at any time for the Algerian delegation."
Ech-Chorouk reported that six Algerian fans were killed in the chaos that followed the match. This was denied by Algeria's ambassador in Cairo, Abdel Qader Hadjar, who said only eleven people had been injured. Egypt's Health Ministry reported 20 Algerians and 12 Egyptians injured. Reda City 16, a well-known Algerian rapper, claimed his brother had died in the Cairo incidents. His claims, made on a YouTube video posting, were disseminated by the Ech-Chorouk newspaper's internet site.
There were attacks on Egyptian interests in Algeria after the match. EgyptAir's Algiers bureau was broken into and a "serious" amount of damage done and the office was closed due to health and safety concerns. Stones were hurled at other buildings. The headquarters of Djezzy, an Algerian subsidiary of the Egyptian Orascom group, was vandalised and looted. Allegedly related was the Algerian government's demand from Orascom for US$596m in back taxes. An Egyptian plane sent to Algeria to "rescue" citizens was refused permission to land.
In Marseille, 500 police were deployed to quell disturbances by Algerian youths, making eight arrests.
As a result of these events, on 18 May 2010, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee sanctioned and fined the Egyptian Football Association for not adopting the necessary measures to prevent the assault on the bus of the Algerian delegation on the way from the airport to the hotel on 12 November 2009. The report would also admonish the Egyptian Football Association for failures in maintaining security and order in the Cairo International Stadium for the game between Egypt and Algeria held on 14 November 2009. This would result in a two-game ban for the Egyptian national football team whereby the first two home matches of the preliminary competition for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil would be played at a location at least 100 kilometres away from Cairo.Egypt to play two matches outside Cairo, by FIFA.com, 18 May 2010
Algeria, Egypt and Zambia qualified for the 2010 African Cup of Nations.
Omdurman match The teams finished level on 13 points and level on all tiebreakers: goal difference in all group matches (+5); goals scored in all group matches (9); points in all Algeria–Egypt matches (3); and goal difference in all Algeria–Egypt matches (0). (The away goals rule was not used as a group-stage tiebreaker). The teams met in a one-game play-off to decide the qualifier. To determine the match venue, each team selected a country other than their own (Algeria selected Tunisia and Egypt selected Sudan). After Sudan was drawn in a lottery on 11 November,Sudan to host possible play-off, FIFA.com, 11 November 2009. the Al Merreikh Stadium in Omdurman was selected by FIFA as the venue for the play-off. The decision to play a tie-breaking playoff game to determine who qualifies to the 2010 FIFA World Cup was controversial because despite the fact that Algeria and Egypt were level on all tiebreakers listed above, Egypt would have qualified based on the away goals rule, which was used to determine the winner of a tie in the case of a tiebreaker in both previous and subsequent qualifiers.
Reuters reported that 15,000 police were mobilised for the match. Embassies advised their nationals to avoid the stadium area; government offices and schools closed early. Scuffles leading to minor injuries were reported.
On Monday 16 November, Al Jazeera reported that Algerian fans had stoned a bus carrying the Egyptian players from a training session, without causing injury. The following day, Sudan President Omar al-Bashir hosted a function in the Presidential Palace in Khartoum, in which Algerian Football Federation head Mohamed Raouraoua snubbed his Egyptian counterpart Samir Zaher.